Project Lead: Natalie Grant, Physical Therapy
Project description
The UBC Master of Physical Therapy program is now a “distributed program” and operates at four geographically separate sites. Using the “hub and spoke” model of distribution, on any given day a different site may operate as the “hub” with the lead instructor teaching in-person to those students while videoconferenced to the other sites (spokes). As the program has expanded, the proportion of lead teaching has increased at all sites and both instructors and students have reported more difficulty with student engagement and participation in the classrooms at the spokes.
I hypothesize that introducing a student-led, values-driven learning contract to each site within the MPT program will improve student self-regulation and social responsibility and thus enhance the learning environment at distributed sites.”
Research Question
1. How does a student-led learning contract affect the classroom atmosphere/learning environment and student engagement in distributed sites?
- a) Does a student-led learning contract empower students at distributed sites to make decisions and take actions regarding self-regulation and classroom behaviour?
- b) Does the creation of a student-led learning contract evoke an increased sense of social responsibility within distributed cohorts?
- What learnings can be gleaned from a cohort of second year students who completed a year of distributed learning without a learning contract in place, regarding their experiences, frustrations and ideas of ways to improve the learning environment at a distributed site?